The McLennan Highlanders picked up a dominating 89-53 win over the Angelina Roadrunners on the road tonight in Lufkin.
The game was close throughout the first half with neither gaining more than a six-point lead. McLennan's Dillon Gooding drained a 3-pointer from the corner to begin the scoring and give the Highlanders the early lead. McLennan led 13-12 with 13:37 to play in the first half. Angelina put together a 9-0 run capped off by a Raeshaun Ambris 3-pointer from the elbow to take the 19-13 lead just over a minute later. The Highlanders responded with an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from CJ Hall to go up 21-20 midway through the half. The two teams traded the lead down the stretch with McLennan holding the 37-35 lead at the break.
The Highlanders took control in the second half. McLennan opened on a 5-0 run and continued to pull away. The Highlanders led 49-42 with 16:05 to play A Diego Gonzalez put back with 14:13 remaining in the game gave McLennan its first double-digit lead at 53-42. The Highlanders extended the lead to 20, 65-45, midway through the half. McLennan put together a 21-0 run over the course of six minutes to put the game on ice.
Chris Pryor led the Highlanders with 19 points. CJ Hall and Forte Prater added 13 and 12, respectively. Justin Wilson picked up the double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Diego Gonzalez added 10 points.
McLennan returns to action Wednesday, traveling to Corsicana for a 7 p.m. contest with No. 14 Navarro.
McLennan: Forte Prater 5 2-6 12; Dillon Gooding 1 1-2 4; CJ Hall 5 3-8 13; Rommell Williams 0 3-4 3; Anthony Simmons 0 0-0 0; Jayce Wright 1 3-3 5; Nehemiah Nuckolls 0 1-2 1; Chris Pryor 8 3-5 19; Ahmad Watkins 0 1-2 1; Diego Gonzalez 3 3-4 10; Antonio Patterson 1 0-0 2; Khalif Allim 2 0-0 4; Cortland Blake 1 2-4 5; Kirk Smith Jr. 0 0-0 0; Javani Brown 0 0-0 0; Justin Wilson 5 0-0 10; Totals:32 14-21 89.
Angelina: Quandre Bullock 1 4-6 7; Zechariah Selvage 3 0-0 6; Raeshaun Ambris 3 1-1 8; Errol White 4 3-4 11; Najee Williams 1 1-2 4; Jalen Broyles 2 0-2 4; Caleb Johnson 2 2-5 7; Edoardo Buffo 2 0-0 6; Kevin Jamieson 0 0-0 0; Totals: 18 11-20 53.
3-pointers: McLennan 11 (Pryor 3, Hall 3, Prater 2, Gooding 1, Gonzalez 1, Blake 1), Angelina 6 (Buffo 2, Bullock 1, Ambris 1, Williams 1, Johnson 1); Total fouls: McLennan 14, Angelina 26; Record: McLennan 5-0.
